Monarch Airlines Queuing Strategy

callum9999

Chomeur wrote: »

Surely if this was an airline's policy they'd get lots of scenes at check-in as people tried to push in front of the queue to check-in? If you miss a flight it could cost you several hundred pounds plus delay so people would be desperate enough to queue barge.

Though if they create a major scene, airport security will just kick them out.

And you are told to get there at least 90 minutes early - I've never seen a queue that long at an airport check-in desk (it certainly feels like it sometimes though!).

zagfles

Chomeur wrote: »

I took a flight with Monarch Airlines last Saturday, from Gatwick. The queue to check-in was unbelievable, must have been 2-300 people. But no problem for me as I had only arrived an hour before departure. They sent me (along with half a dozen other people) to the front of the queue to be served straightaway.

So the moral for flying with Monarch seems to be don't bother arriving two hours before your flight. If you do you'll just be queueing for an hour until you get called forward to check-in. The queue takes so long because all the people like me who arrive later get served before you.

Ridiculous situation. Anyone else have any experiences of this?

Were they queuing for the same flight or a different one? It's happened to me a few times where the people already queuing were queuing for a later flight, that seems to be normal practice where the check-in desk is used for more than one flight.

suer_2

I've just returned from Majorca flying with Monarch to Luton. The flight was 2 hours late. What puzzled me was that it was due to staff sickness which they must have known about for several hours.

On previous occasions I'm sure that I have had an update by text advising delays. Instead there was a notice on the desk showing an hours delay. This changed to 1.5 hours on the flight screen which wasn't updated and as I say departure was 2 hours after scheduled time.

One other observation re on line check in. I do this to save queuing to check in and print out my boarding card at home. Why when I drop my bag do they issue another one. What is the point? This happens every time.
I also noticed this time that they have changed their website with regard to pricing and you can now go through the booking with all inclusive prices including extra legroom seats. But when you come to the seat selection window, I have found that extra legroom seats are not available. But if you select a standard seat there is no price adjustment to reflect this.

NFH

Voyager2002 wrote: »

it is your responsibility to check in before your flight closes, and a long queue to check-in is no excuse.

No, it is the airline's responsibility to provide sufficient staff and desks to allow its customers to check in on time. A queue, especially a long one, is indicative of a problem, and it is the airline's responsibility to resolve that problem.

NFH

suer wrote: »

IWhat puzzled me was that it was due to staff sickness which they must have known about for several hours.

It depends when the sickness occurred and when they became aware of it.

wroughtironron

We queued for over an hour in the Monarch line at Manchester Airport last saturday - it was horrendous, and every Monarch passenger went into the queue no matter what flight they were on.
I won't be flying with them again.

Bob_the_Saver

wroughtironron wrote: »

We queued for over an hour in the Monarch line at Manchester Airport last saturday - it was horrendous, and every Monarch passenger went into the queue no matter what flight they were on.
I won't be flying with them again.

Flew with them once but now I stick to Ryanair inside Europe where possible, they are so much better, cheaper and more reliable in my opinion.